Redemption
by thekingdaddy
Summary: Captain Kate Beckett of Army Counter-Intelligence, must team with dishonorably discharged Major Richard Castle to take down a terrorist group. Complete AU. My entry for the Castle Ficathon 2017.
1. Chapter 1

**Redemption**

 **The past few years I have wanted to create an entry into one of the Castle Ficathons but after the end of the show I feared that I would never get another chance to enter. But a few weeks ago I saw that there was going to be one this summer so I got to work.**

 **I know that I have a couple of open stories that need finishing, and I surely intend to do just that, but I wanted to do this first.**

 **This story is inspired by the wonderful works of Swordwriter, Lord of Kavaka, Perfgen, Perspex, Pen2Paper and countless other wonderful writers.**

 **This story is inspired by the show Strike Back which I watched the first couple of episodes a number of years ago. I never finished the series so I will deviate from the story line rather quickly.**

 _Lahore, Pakistan_

A static-filled picture came upon the monitor of a Caucasian male being dragged into view. He was forced onto his knees in front of a black flag with Arabic writing breaking up the background. A rifle violently forced his chin upward, his eyes locking upon the camera that was being used to broadcast the entire ordeal. His eyes darted to the cue card with the lines his captors had written for him to read.

"My name is John Sinclair and I am being held by the Arabic Freedom Fighters for crimes against Allah. The west has spent too many years as aggressors, attempting to take our resources from our people. The Americans and British infidels have imprisoned our brother freedom fighters; in exchange for my life the AFF want the immediate release of their comrades from the unlawful incarceration."

In a darkened alley outside a nondescript building a team of soldiers were stacking up for a breach when the commander received communication from Command Central. "Beckett, report."

"Stacked and ready, sir, awaiting orders," the strike leader replied.

"Mission is a go," a smooth voice ordered.

"Rodger that!" The team leader turned to the team. "Breach!"

Immediately two soldiers came forward with a battering ram and slammed the door just to the left of the locking mechanism, rendering it useless. The team leader's boot slammed the door at the spot where the ram had just hit and the team hurried into the building.

They were thankful that they had night-vision goggles on this mission as the building's breakers all seemed to be off. The team made its way around the first corner and encountered two hostiles who were quickly dispatched with the silenced burp of MP-5s.

The team continued deeper into the building encountering a few more fighters all too willing to die for the cause; the team leader was more than willing to acquiesce to their desires. The team made it to a set of stairs that apparently led to the basement.

"Demming, you're the tail gunner; cover our six," Beckett commanded in a gruff voice while the team headed down the stairs. Upon hitting the basement they quickly cleared the room with ruthless efficiency.

Beckett moved to the center of the room where the flag seen earlier laid crumpled on the cement slab of a floor. "Command, we're too late."

Colonel Roy Montgomery turned to his second-in-command, Major Victoria Gates. "Just where did this intel come from?"

"The British," the petite African American woman replied.

Montgomery's eyes returned to his team leader's heads-up display and he watched as she inspected the room. He carefully observed as she stopped to view the area where the camera appeared to have been set up.

"Beckett, does this look strange to you?" Montgomery inquired.

"Yes, sir! I think he was here but they moved him quite a while ago."

"I concur. Let's wrap this op up and get back here. There's a C-130 waiting for transport," the colonel advised.

"Rodger that, sir," Beckett replied. "Okay team, let's search for anything of importance – hard drives and such – and get the hell out of here."

A new voice broke the silence of her earpiece. "Beckett, I found a map and phone on one of the deceased up here."

"Roger that, Demming, I'm on my way…" Her transmission was cut short by the sound of gunfire coming from the floor above.

Xx

Tom Demming found a phone and map on the body at the top of the stairs and called it in to Beckett. As he finished his report to Beckett a hot piece of lead ripped through his throat, instantly dropping him to the floor.

At the sound of gunfire Beckett bolted for the stairs taking the flight two steps at a time, her team hot on her heels. When she reached the top of the stairs she drew her rifle up to sight and cleared the room as her second-in-command, Javier Esposito, rushed to Demming who was gasping for air.

Beckett raced for the entrance that the team had breached earlier. When she cleared the door to the alley her eyes searched for any signs of an adversary. She saw a male in a kandora – a long white robe – running down the street with an AK-47 dangling from a strap on his shoulder. When he looked back his eyes grew large as he saw a soldier draw a bead on him.

Beckett's MP-5 coughed twice and the rounds lodged in the back of her prey, immediately dropping the target to the ground. She stalked toward the downed man, her weapon never leaving her shoulder, prepared to fire at an instant. Once she reached her victim she kicked away his weapon before checking his vitals. When she realized he was dead she checked his pockets and found what appeared to be the map and phone that Demming had called in.

The sound of footsteps broke her concentration on the young man she had killed. She turned to find Esposito shaking his head and she realized that she had lost Demming. "Dammit!"

"Kev has the deuce and a half parked by the door and LT and Hastings are loading up Tom."

"Thanks, Sergeant, let's get him home."

Xx

The colonel and major sat behind a desk reviewing the after action report that the team leader and her second in command had submitted. The colonel looked up at his team leader and spoke. "Okay, I can read between the lines of this report. So, off the record, what do you think?"

"It was a clusterfuck, sir!" Beckett replied while standing at attention the required eighteen inches in front of a superior's desk.

"You're out of line, Captain!" Major Gates interrupted.

"It was a total CF, Major! And if you had any time in the field instead of behind this desk you would think so also!" Beckett retaliated, not fearing for one moment that she would be reprimanded by the colonel.

"AT EASE! The both of you! Elaborate, Beckett," the colonel said trying to ease the tension in the room.

"Bad intel, poor planning, and even poorer execution." Beckett looked at Gates and could see her agitation level rise; she continued before Gates could speak. "With all of that said, the mission should have been a go. There is no way we should leave anyone, let alone a man like Sinclair, to the mercy of the likes of the AFF."

The colonel looked at Sergeant Esposito. "Sergeant, your two cents worth."

"This was a total CF, sir." He wasn't willing to use the full phrase in the presence of a superior officer. "And I agree – we should have done everything to bring our man home."

"Esposito, you're dismissed. Beckett, you stay, we need to talk with you."

Esposito saluted, about-faced and headed out of the fishbowl, so called because the office walls were made of glass.

Montgomery handed Beckett a file. "Tariq got the best of us today, but we will get him. That was Sinclair's phone you brought back. The only calls on it were to Jakarta."

"Jakarta?" Beckett parroted.

Gates pointed to the file. "Yes, he made numerous calls to one number."

Beckett opened the file and was staring into the eyes of the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. Her eyes searched the page for this man's name. She found it, Richard Castle, nice name. But what shocked her more than anything was the wording of the red stamp over his name. _Dishonorable Discharge_.

"Go retrieve him by any means necessary," Montgomery ordered.

Xx

The room was glowing red from the neon lights outside the window but that didn't bother Rick Castle, not one bit. When he closed his eyes to sleep he was out immediately, nothing bothered him. Nothing except a threat, that is. He had an innate ability to recognize a threat in his sleep and awake alert and ready for action. That's what made him so good in the field.

But tonight he couldn't fall asleep even though the woman lying next to him had done her best to wear him out to the point of exhaustion. He slowly lifted Nisa's head and extricated himself from the bed, moving to the door leading to the balcony of his rented room. For the past six months he had been spending his nights with Nisa. He'd hired her from the whore house downstairs one night and she never left.

A noise came from the hallway. He was reaching for the Berretta on his night stand when his door burst open. A scream came from the woman in his bed as he racked the slide back on his weapon.

"Rifqi, what in the hell do you want?" Castle demanded as he placed his weapon back on the nightstand.

"Ricky, I just want to tell you how much I have riding on this fight. I have set you up as the unbeatable American and I have bet the house on Igor. I want to make sure you understand what I have at stake," the short balding man in the Hawaiian shirt with the two henchmen behind him, said in an unusually high-pitched voice.

"I got it. Just tell the Russian to not to hit me in the nose. If I have to lose to him, I damn sure don't want a broken nose as well."

The little man patted Castle on his cheek. "It looks like that beak has been broken a few times. What's one more?"

"I mean it, Rifqi. Tell him to stay away from my nose."

Xx

Castle had just taken the third blow to his nose. "Igor, lay off the nose!" he yelled across the pit he was in. Castle dusted off his chest and moved in and caught another fist to his nose. "Igor, lay the fuck off my nose," he said through gritted teeth as he landed a blow of his own.

Igor landed a straight right to Castle's nose, knocking him to the ground while splitting the bridge of the said nose. Castle watched as Igor raised his hands in victory while he took a seat in what passed for a ring corner in the little sliver of hell. "Dammit, Rifqi tell him to lay off the nose!"

A smile came from the aforementioned man and Castle knew that his nose would get no reprieve from the pounding it was taking.

He looked up the second balcony surrounding the pit seeing the usual spectators lining the rail. The men were dressed in what they must surely think made them look like an American gangster, and the women were all wearing different versions of the little black cocktail dress.

Every woman but one. There was a tall brunette who appeared to be an American wearing jeans, a tank top, and combat boots. But what struck him was the smirk on her face, like she knew something that no one else in the room did. She winked at him and moved away from the rail, apparently heading for the door.

Castle stood and called to Igor. "Last chance, Ruski, hands off the nose." A grunt was all Castle heard in response. As they met in the center of the pit, Igor landed a punishing blow to the side of Castle's head and he followed it up with a jab to the nose.

Castle had had enough. He threw a right cross to Igor's abdomen and after Igor bent, doubled over, Castle buried his knee into his opponent's nose. Igor's nose exploded in a mist of blood. Castle didn't let up the attack; he landed a quick combination to Igor's head which staggered the big man. Castle looked over at Rifqi letting him know this fight was over. He turned back to the Russian and landed a spinning heel kick that stole the consciousness from his opponent.

Then he sprinted out of the pit and headed for the back door.

When he arrived at his hotel he had to make his way through the whore house that occupied the first two floors. He entered his room, quickly stripping off the sweaty clothes he was currently wearing. As his boxers hit the floor he heard a throat clear from behind him.

He turned to see the woman from the fight staring at him. "Impressive," she said, cocking an eyebrow. "But I don't think I have the time to do anything with it and you surely don't."

She moved like a feline stalking her prey, her hands occupied with the cup of coffee she had made before he had arrived. "It was a good fight; well, after you decided to actually fight, that is."

Castle was steadily shoving clothes into a small gym bag. "Yeah well, it wasn't supposed to end the way it did. And just who in the hell are you?"

"Captain Kate Beckett, Army Counter Intelligence; I'm here about John Sinclair."

"He's a good soldier," Castle said, pulling up a pair of jeans forgoing the need for boxers.

"He's dead, killed by Tariq Muhammed." Beckett placed the coffee cup into the most disgustingly dirty sink she'd ever seen.

"That's a shame, but what does this have to do with me?" Castle nervously looked out the door into the hallway.

"You're the last living person who can identify Tariq."

"It'll cost you," he said, zipping the bag.

"He was your friend."

"In case you haven't noticed, this isn't exactly the Waldorf." He pulled a Henley over his head, covering the washboard that defined his midsection.

Before Beckett could answer a woman burst into the room. "Ricky, Rifqi is on his way!" Nisa saw Beckett leaning against the sink. "Who is this bitch?"

"Just a friend. I have to go now, Nisa." Castle pulled her into a searing kiss. "I'll be gone a while."

"Ricky, take me with you," she cried.

"I would love to, but you don't have a passport." He knew it was a weak excuse and by the stifled laugh from Beckett, she knew also.

Everyone in the room knew except Nisa. "How will I get in touch with you?"

"I'll friend you on Facebook," he replied, leading Beckett out onto the balcony.

"You do that!" Beckett heard as she followed him. They got to the end of the building when they saw Rifqi and five of his men entering the building. Castle looked over the edge of the balcony and saw two of Rifqi's men standing guard. He turned to Beckett and handed her his bag. "Here hold this." He then leapt over the rail, landing on the henchman nearest the truck they came in. He was landing blows and getting the best of the guard when another came out of the building with a gun drawn.

"You have _got_ to be shitting me." Beckett threw the bag over the rail and leapt onto the gun wielding adversary.

With the addition of Beckett, the thugs were quickly dispatched. Beckett saw a KTM dirt bike across the street. "Come on Castle." She got to the bike, righted it and raised the kick stand. "Get on," she yelled.

"No, _I'm_ driving," Castle retorted.

"The hell you are!" she fumed.

"Do you know your way around this city?" She shook her head. "I didn't think so. Now get on the back and hold on." He just couldn't help himself. "Sweet cheeks."

Who knew she hit harder than Igor? "Dammit, lay off the nose!"


	2. Chapter 2

**I was remiss when I posted the first chapter to acknowledge LadyAilith and her continued support of my work. If she would let me I would gladly give her co-writer credit, but she will not hear of it, but if you could see all of the red that comes back from her editing it would truly surprise you. A guest reviewed that my work has improved over the past two years it's no coincidence that** _ **Lady A**_ **started working with me around that time.**

 **I also want to acknowledge Mrs. Kingdaddy, she read the unedited version of chapter 1 and requested another chapter within the week.**

 **Now on to the legal stuff. I own nothing.**

Redemption Chapter 2

 _Central Command, Tampa, Florida_

"I understand you are willing to help us, Major Castle… for a price," Major Gates said, reviewing the file in front of her. "Colonel Montgomery will be here soon."

Shortly thereafter Colonel Montgomery entered the room which was filled with computers and servers. Sergeant Esposito snapped to attention. "Colonel Montgomery."

"At ease, I'll be in the company area all day," Montgomery said, letting his team know that formalities were suspended for the time being.

"Now Major Castle, I understand you are willing to assist us… for a price, is that right?" Montgomery queried, pausing for effect.

"I guess you can say that… Colonel." The last word was uttered with a venom that few in the room had heard before.

"Easy big guy, we're all on the same team here," Beckett said, trying to calm the man standing next to her. She wasn't sure why she was so interested in keeping this scraggly man who smelled of sweat and sex out of trouble, but she was.

"I've got it, Captain, but thanks for your concern," Castle snapped.

Before the terse conversation in the room could continue a young sergeant rushed up. "Colonel, they're broadcasting another video of Sinclair."

"Thank you Hastings. Ryan, put it on the big screen."

With fingers that looked as if they were flying across the keyboard, Ryan brought up the video while another woman in uniform, Tori Ellis, assisted with the sound. Hastings was correct; it was Sinclair. This time he looked much worse for wear. He had obviously taken a few beatings in the past couple of days.

"The AFF have a message for you," Sinclair began. "These assholes want me to tell you that they've grown tired of waiting." After he finished a rifle butt crashed into his head, opening a gash above his eye that streamed blood.

"These motherfuckers want you to know that the raid a few days ago is what prompted this. My blood is on your hands." A hand gun was immediately placed against Sinclair's head and the trigger pulled. John slumped to the floor and the video feed was cut. Nothing but static remained.

"Oh god!" Beckett cried.

Hastings turned and emptied her stomach into the nearest wastebasket while cursing and praying in the same breath.

Xx

"To Sinclair." Beckett and her team each raised a shot glass filled with Jameson 12 Year Old Whiskey to the memory of the man they had seen lose his life earlier in the day. "A good soldier."

"And an even better man," Castle muttered from the end of the bar, taking in the scene at the other end.

He had arrived earlier than the team after he'd watched the life end of what might have been his only friend. They had met when he was a lieutenant fresh out of Special Ops training. Sinclair was Military Intelligence and he had been assigned to the Deltas.

They had worked a couple of missions together, Castle always leading the team and John along to provide intelligence for the mission. Their final assignment together was the one that lead to his dishonorable discharge, although Sinclair had risked his career trying to get the charges dropped.

Castle was pulled from his thoughts as he heard Beckett say, "To Tom Demming! A fine soldier and an even better man. I'm proud to have called him friend."

It was easy for Castle to forget that this team had lost one of their own. Although he had never met the man, he added, "To the teammate you lost. May he find peace on the other side."

Shortly thereafter Beckett, with drink in hand, moved to the opposite end of the bar. Leaning back against the rail she turned to Castle, taking him in for the first time since they met. Yes, she'd seen all of him in the little room he called home, and it sure was a sight, but she had never truly taken the time to consider him.

What she saw confused her. He gave off this sense of being harder than nails, but she could see that he was deeply affected by the Sinclair murder. When it happened her eyes darted to his and she saw an obvious rage over the incident. But when she analyzed his facial expressions she came to realize that rage didn't accurately describe his emotions. It was a cold fury, the kind that usually takes over and impairs a person, keeping them from making sound judgments. She had seen many types of anger in her job, but none frightened her like the look on his face at that moment.

"Did you know him?" she asked trying to break the ice, taking a sip of her drink while awaiting his answer. One sip became two, then three before he finally spoke.

"You know I did!" came the curt response before he downed his own drink.

"I was speaking of Tom," she answered calmly.

"No, that's who you used to start this conversation, but what you really want to know is why I got so upset when I only agreed to come here for the money." He held up a finger for another drink. "You want one?" He raised two fingers acknowledging her answer.

"Well, I do find it difficult to understand how a man who exudes this _I don't care about anyone or anything_ vibe can be so affected by what happened."

Castle threw a fifty on the bar and turned to Beckett. "Don't try to analyze me. Just… don't." He got up and headed for the door.

Xx

The celebration of the lives they lost lasted until the wee hours of the morning with each soldier slowly heading for a cab and the inevitable rough morning that was awaiting them. Captain Beckett rose a little later than usual the following morning and headed out for a run. She pushed herself harder than normal, fully expecting the heat of the day coupled with the extra exertion to cause her to sweat out the remnants of the previous night's activities.

She opened the front door and entered her townhome, grabbing the towel she had left within reach of the front door and wiping the sweat from her brow and skin that her tank left exposed. "Mom? Are you up?"

"Yes, sweetheart, I'm in the kitchen."

"…and there I was, naked as the day I was born and your daughter staring a hole through me all the while drinking coffee out of my favorite mug," Beckett heard as she ventured down the hall in search of the enticing smell of freshly fried bacon.

Once she entered the room she stopped at the counter that separated the kitchen from the dining area and the table where Castle had taken up residence. "I can't say there was a whole lot to see." She glowered at him with a look that he was sure could turn him to stone if he stared too long. "And just what in the hell are you doing at my table? Or better yet in my house? How the devil do you know where I live?" Choosing that rather than the expletive that she would rather have used.

Castle grinned as he replied, "I'm in your house because that's where your table is. I'm at your table because your beautiful mother asked me to breakfast. And I know where you live because I followed you home last night. You really should be more aware of your surroundings when you leave a bar." Now his face changed from a grin to a disapproving look, the kind a father would use on a daughter. "Did you have a little too much to drink last night? You really should be a little more careful, you know. What if I would have had nefarious intentions?" And the grin was back.

"I would have kicked your ass like the last time. Now what do you want?" Beckett demanded. He could see her jaw clench in anger.

"I have something I need to show you."

She upped the ante slightly. "Oh, I've seen everything you have to show and I don't want to see it again."

Before he could offer up a witty rejoinder, Johanna interjected, "Are you two always like this?"

"Don't know; we just met a couple of days ago," Castle answered. "But I'm willing to find out if you are." He turned his heated gaze upon Beckett once again.

Johanna placed two plates on the table along with a pot of coffee. "I think I'll leave you two to talk alone. For all of his bravado he was very anxious to show you something on that computer of his." She pointed to the computer bag that Beckett had yet to notice.

"Thanks, Mom, this shouldn't take too long."

"Nice meeting you, Johanna," Castle said as the older woman took a plate and headed to the den.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your breakfast but I don't think this can wait." He opened his laptop and booted it up. "I found something in the video last night – well, this morning."

Beckett was staring at the video of Sinclair being murdered on Castle's screen. "Castle, where did you get that?"

"Ellis, of course." He said it like it was a given that he should have it and that Ellis would be the one to give it to him.

"Now watch."

"I've seen it; it's etched into my memory."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Okay, just listen then." There wasn't any hint of a joke. He knew that seeing someone executed had different effects on people. Some compartmentalized while some lashed out in anger, and he wasn't sure how the beauty beside him coped in those situations.

"John and I ran a few ops together in Afghanistan and Iraq and our support was usually local forces. We couldn't always trust who we were working with so we devised a code that only the two of us understood."

"That's kind of…" Beckett began before being cut off.

"Devious."

"I was going to say brilliant but devious works," she commented with a smile.

"I like brilliant. Makes me sound smart."

" _Sounds_ smart; it doesn't make you smart," she joked, pulling her chair closer to the screen.

"What we did was assign a new number to the alphabet. It rotated after every letter and went up or down after a consonant or vowel. So A which is number one, becomes three."

"Kind of like _Smokey and the Bandit?"_ she smiled. "To quote Buford T. Justice, 'The goddamn Germans have nothing to do with it.'"

"That. is. so. _HOT._ Marry me?" Then he gave her a look and she couldn't tell if he was serious or joking. "Anyway, we would use our given names – Johnathan and Richard – as an indicator to use the code. But his use of vulgar language leads me to think that he coded something, so I looked."

"Vulgar language?" she questioned.

"Yeah, you know, words like _asshole_ and _motherfuckers."_ He grinned. "John never used that language. He thought that using those words showed your lack of vocabulary and prided himself on finding the right adjective to describe what he needed to. So his use of those words got me thinking and… well, I got Tori to give me a copy of the video."

"Okay, what do these translate into?" She asked.

"Paramore and Project Nanos." Xx

"So, do you believe him?" Montgomery asked Beckett.

Beckett turned and looked out the office window into the conference room where Castle was seated at the table. He was in one of the chairs staring off into space. She wasn't sure how she felt about the man but he had never given her any reason to doubt him, even though she had only know him a few days. He put up the front of not giving a damn, but he'd worked all night on decoding the message. That wasn't the action of a man who didn't care.

Turning back to the colonel, she replied, "Yes, I do. I'm not sure why, but I do."

Gates spoke up. "We are trying to decode Paramore, but Project Nanos is a highly classified operation that Sinclair was working on. There's no way in hell Castle could have known about this. There are less than twenty people in the world who know that name. And that includes the three of us."

Ryan burst into the room. "Sir, we have a hit on Paramore. I ran Paramore through every search engine I could think of and I got a hit I'm pretty sure it's a hotel in Dhaka, Bangladesh."

"Why is that?" Montgomery inquired.

"Because three people that the CIA have listed as high-ranking AFF members are registered under their known aliases."

"Beckett, get your team ready to head to Dhaka. Major Gates, get the command team and gear ready to move. You have three hours." He looked out into the conference room. "Beckett, get Castle geared up."

"Sir?"

"He worked with Sinclair and I have a feeling he wants to help more than he's willing to admit."

Xx


	3. Chapter 3

**I usually try to post on Wednesday's but the past week was a bear with my travel. This chapter was cut in two by LadyAlith, it was just too long. So next week's is written and I have started Chapter 5. I thought about posting both this weekend, but that would leave none for mid-week.**

 **I hope you like it.**

Redemption Chapter 3

His glass of Jameson sat virtually untouched on the mahogany bar which looked like it would fit in perfectly in an old Humphrey Bogart film. The kind of film where a troubled man always found peace at the end of the film, even if he didn't get the girl.

Castle had positioned himself at one end of the bar where his line of sight allowed him to see past the entrance into the Paramore's bar into the lobby. With a slight shift he could see the hotel guest desk and the front entrance. That's where he was seated awaiting a certain brunette with long legs and gorgeous green eyes to arrive.

The plan was for him to arrive first and an hour and a half later Beckett would enter the lobby. His cover was he was newspaper writer and Beckett was using she was buyer in the fashion industry as her cover. Later in the evening Esposito was arriving with a tour group along with Hastings, who was posing as his girlfriend.

Castle wasn't a fool and didn't suffer fools any better, so he saw right through Montgomery's explanation. He'd been selected because he knew Tariq's face; but that wasn't the real reason. He was selected because he wasn't a part of the team, hence he was an expendable asset if it all went to hell before the team was in pace.

So here he sat at the end of a bar waiting for his partner to arrive when a voice came across earpiece and transmitter he was wearing. "Castle, how's it going in there?" Beckett's voice asked.

"It's looking good. No sign of our guests," he replied before taking a sip of his drink.

"I'll be in the lobby in thirty, then I'll make my way to the bar."

"Please allow me to buy… Damn it!" Castle blurted out as he felt a liquid splash down his back.

"I'm so sorry." a very feminine voice said as he felt hands on his back. "I'm so clumsy. I should have been more careful."

His earpiece erupted again. "Castle are you okay? What's going on?"

"Don't worry Miss, accidents happen," Castle said trying to alleviate the women's worry, both the one in his ear and the one who was currently trying to blot the red wine from his white linen shirt.

"At least let me pay for the cleaning. I insist," the woman replied; she was French if her accent was true.

"No harm, no foul. I'll just head up to my room and get cleaned up." He rose and made for the elevator with his new companion in tow.

"Once inside the car she asked again if she could pay for the cleaning and again he refused. The car stopped on the fourteenth floor and both passengers exited. "What are the odds of both of us being on the same floor?"

"Quite the coincidence," he replied.

"If you're downstairs later I would love to buy a drink to apologize for this," she said with a hint of flirtation in her voice.

"I have a dinner date this even evening but maybe I can fit you in a little later," he replied with a seductive smile.

"Dinner date!" came in his earpiece startling him out of his perusal of the woman before him.

He watched her walk away before replying. "Would you have rather I said a booty call?"

That in turn got a sputtering reply in his ear. "Hell no!"

He entered his room, locked the door and placed his ear against it, listening for any signs of her or anyone else's presence outside. When he realized that there was no one in the hall he relaxed and spoke to Beckett. "I sure as hell don't like being without a weapon; I feel naked."

"I know what you mean, now go get cleaned up we have a guest from the Bangladesh military here. I'll see you inside in a little bit," Beckett replied.

'"Before I forget, I'm in 1430 if you want to make that booty…"

"Castle, put a sock in it."

"Yes, ma'am."

Xx

"Colonel Montgomery, meet Major Sumon Kazi of the Bangladesh Defense Force," Gates said as the short man in what appeared to be the latest military fatigues from South Africa reached out to shake Montgomery's hand.

"It's my pleasure to welcome you to our country. When your government informed us of what you who you were after, it's the least we can do to help capture this scourge." The major looked around studying the vast array of monitor and servers that took up most of the space in the warehouse the team was using as command center. "My team will be ready to lend support as soon as your operatives locate the terrorists."

"We appreciate that, Major. We already have one of our team inside and Captain Beckett here is poised to enter in less than thirty minutes," Gates replied as Montgomery began to review the video feeds from within the Paramore.

"You are sending a woman in the place of a man? What kind of operation is this?" the major asked indignantly.

"Captain Beckett can take out this entire room before anyone could get off a shot," Gates said, almost sounding impressed.

"And I won't even break a nail." Beckett threw in.

Kazi huffed but didn't say another word. Everyone in the room knew he wasn't happy with a woman doing what he perceived as a man's job, but he had the good sense to keep his opinions to himself on the matter.

Xx

Beckett waited her turn in the line for the metal detector. It seemed that all the hotels in Bangladesh had upgraded their security in the past few years. Multiple terror attacks had that effect upon a country. Once clearing security she promptly went about getting her room and headed for the bar. In a coincidence unknown to both herself and Castle, she sat in the exact chair that Castle had vacated earlier in the evening.

She watched the lobby, scanning for signs of their suspected terrorists while she nursed a glass of wine. She was fascinated by the comings and goings of the guests as they went about their daily routines. _None of them would suspect that there are terrorists in this hotel._

After finishing her glass of wine she called for Castle on her earpiece to no avail. _He sure does take long showers. At least I hope it's a shower that's delaying him. Not the woman he met earlier._ Beckett slowly came out of her ruminations at the sight of multiple men entering the hotel in matching track suits. They were much too old to be an athletic team. No, they looked like Arabic rejects from an episode of _T_ _he Sopranos._

She decided that this wasn't going to end well so she slowly slid from the bar and headed for the stairwell reaching the stairs just as the sound of an AK-47 echoed throughout the lobby. "Sir, we have a problem," she called out as she raced up the stairs.

"Beckett, what the hell's going on? Give me a sitrep _now!_ _"_ Montgomery growled _._

"Gunmen, at least ten, have taken the lobby. I'm not sure what they want but I have a bad feeling. They looked organized and performed well as a team. At least that's the way it looked from my vantage point. I'm in a stairwell now. Can you make sure the coast is clear to Castle's room? He isn't answering his com." _"Must still be in the shower,"_ she mused. "I think it would be best if we were together going forward.

"Ryan, make sure she isn't walking into a hornets nest with no spray. I hate that my team is unarmed in there," Montgomery barked.

Gates was standing over Ellis with one earpiece from a headset in her ear intently listening to a conversation Ellis was having with Esposito. "Roy, Esposito and Hastings are at the front door of the hotel. The solid doors that back the glass one have been closed and bolted but prior to that happening Javier said it looked like the bad guys had C-4 and claymores."

"Shit, did you hear that, Beckett?" Montgomery began to run all the scenarios through his head and none of them were positive.

"Yeah, I got it; what do you want us to do?"

"Sumon Kazi, do you have any need for my team? I'm sure this is part of the group we're hunting," Montgomery said.

"My backup team is close. I'm going to assume that every exit is covered. If they can give us reconnaissance and maybe find us a safe way inside, my team will deal with the terrorists."

Montgomery thought for a second. "That sounds good." He turned back to panel of monitors that had been set up for this op watching the terrorists line up the women in the lobby. Watching what was happening, Montgomery realized what they were looking for.

"Ryan, is there any way you can zoom onto what he has in his hand?" Montgomery asked.

"Who, sir?" the young man asked.

"This guy right here!" Montgomery touched one of the screens on the wall.

"Beckett, they're looking for someone. It looks like it's a woman and I'm guessing they don't know her name since they are lining up women and inspecting them like cattle."

Ryan came on the com, interrupting the colonel. "Beckett, there are at least four bad guys on Castle's floor and I just lost the video feed."

"I wondered how long it would take them to get around to that," Gates commented as Montgomery followed up with, "Can you get it back?"

"Negatory, sir."

Beckett stilled her nerves, pulling open the door from the stairwell allowing her to access the fourteenth floor.

Two burps from what sounded like an AK-47 broke the silence as she stepped out into the hallway only to see a naked Castle lying on the floor, most of his body in the hallway. Just his legs were inside his room. But what amazed her was seeing the weapon that she must have heard earlier in Castle's hands. Two tracksuit-wearing men were lying dead on the other end of the hall.

"Son of a bitch! Why are you always naked?"

Xx

Castle was sitting on the edge of his bed, water slowly trickling down his bare chest. He had finished his shower made his way to the bed wrapped in only a towel. It was remarkable really, how he had ended up here. Just a few days ago he was lying in bed with Nisa after a pretty aerobic round of sex and now here he was chasing a terrorist.

A ghost.

A ghost that he may be one of the few westerners who could identify. A ghost who had killed what was arguably his only friend.

A friend.

A friend who had stuck by him when the worst day in his life happened. A friend who had been there when he was court-martialed and drummed out of the army on a trumped-up charge. A friend who had stood by him when he was accused of summarily executing a member of the newly founded Iraqi parliament, who the both knew was working with Tariq. He never pulled the trigger but he was blamed and scapegoated for it none the less. That was six years ago and now he couldn't even get a job with a mercenary group. He was tainted goods.

He was shaken out of his thoughts by the sound a violent knocking on his door. It was the sound of someone knocking who was in quite a hurry. _"_ _What the hell_ _,"_ he thought as he made his way through the suite to the entry way of his and Beckett's room.

The hotel was practically full this week, some sort of fashion week or something. He hadn't really listened to Gates as they briefed on the plan. All he knew was that he and Beckett were given a two bedroom suite to share on this mission. He laughed as he thought of her response when he said they could share a bed, _"W_ _ho knows maybe we'll like it._ _"_ Her response of, _"Y_ _ou have no idea,_ _"_ jarred him to his core. That was one hell of a woman, one in a previous life he would have love to uncover the mysteries of, but not any longer.

"What the hell do you wa…?" he began as he pulled the door open only to see the woman who spilled the wine on his shirt. But it wasn't the woman but the little girl at her side, who couldn't be a day over seven, that stopped him.

"We need your help, Richard Castle!" she pleaded after turning to look down the hallway making sure that no one was behind her.

"How do you know my name?" he demanded, not for the first time on this trip wondering what he had got himself into.

"I'm Marie Sinclair, John's wife. And this is our daughter, Alexis Michelle," she replied as she forced her way into his room. "And we need your help. John said if he wasn't here that you would be and you would move heaven and earth to help us. He also said that if he wasn't here that he more than likely met his…" she paused and looked at her daughter whose eyes grew big with the mention of John, "demise."

"Alexis?" he asked, seemingly missing the rest of the conversation.

"Yes, Alexis. John insisted we name her after your daughter. He said he had never seen anyone love someone so fiercely, and if he could love her half as much as you loved your Alexis she would never want for anything."

The sound of the door at the far end of the hallway snapped him out of his thoughts. "Get in the bedroom and don't make a sound."

Castle looked around the room for something he could use as a weapon. His eyes landed upon a solid brass orb. He wasn't sure why it was in the room because it didn't go with the décor one bit, but there it was. He raced across the room and picked it up feeling the weight in his hand. _"_ _T_ _his will work nicely._ _"_

He quickly removed his towel, wrapped it around the orb, and flattened himself against the first wall that led from the foyer of the room. He heard the door to the adjacent room shatter from the force of an apparent boot.

When they made it to his door a voice in broken English, then in Bengali, and finally, in Arabic asked for the door to be opened. Before there could be a response the door slammed open from a violent kick and two men quickly made their way into his room.

Castle stilled himself and waited until he could see the shadow of the first man approach the end of the foyer. With the force that Babe Ruth would use to hit a massive home run, Castle swung the towel laden with the orb, connecting with the first intruder just above the left eye.

The assailant dropped in an instant. Quickly in one fluid motion, Castle slung the orb, releasing it from the towel and twisted the towel it into a tight rope. One that would normally be used in locker rooms to snap someone on the ass. He wrapped the towel around the barrel of the assailant's gun as the bad guy tried to clear the foyer. He twisted and pulled at the same time removing the gun from the smaller man's hand.

Once the man was rendered weaponless Castle struck with the efficiently and lethality of a king cobra. He stuck the man's Adam's apple with a knife-edge chop immediately dropping his assailant into a pool of agony. He picked up one of the rifles, and made his way to the door.

He took a quick sneak peek, darting his head out to see if there were any others. Seeing two men with a line of women he decided to act. He flung himself into the hall way, drawing a bead on his opponents. Opponents that had no idea they had become his prey, and pulled the trigger, allowing two three-round bursts to escape from his AK-47. When the threat was eliminate he ordered the women to hide in their rooms.

Just as he thought about rising he heard, "Son of a bitch! Why are you always naked?"

"Hey Beckett, why do we keep meeting when I have no clothes on?" Castle said with a Cheshire Cat-like grin.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sometimes I think I must sound like a broken record, but I am so sorry this update took so long. My work travel picked up the past few weeks, if that was even possible, and I had to travel on the Fourth of July. I am part of the way though the next chapter and hopefully it won't take as long to publish; but since my wife leaves for Europe this week I'm sure that I will have plenty of last minute chores to take care of for her.**

Redemption Chapter 4

"Kate, we have problem." Castle retrieved his towel and covered himself. She was taken aback by the use of her first name. Other than her mother, no one had called her Kate in a very long time.

Deciding that if he was going to use her given name she could return the favor. "Rick, you have no idea."

"That's the second time you've told me that, but I don't think you mean it in the same sense as the last time. Now let me introduce you to someone."

Beckett groaned with the implications as to whom he wanted to introduce her to. There was no way she wanted to meet one of his conquests. And how did he have time for a conquest anyway? "Kate Beckett, meet Marie and Alexis Sinclair, wife and daughter of one John Sinclair. Mrs. Sinclair, let me introduce you to Captain Kate Beckett. Now if you will excuse me, ladies, I'd like to get dressed. I think this is going to be hard enough without me running around naked."

" _Holy shit!"_ she thought. What were the odds that Sinclair's wife – and who knew John even _had_ a wife – was here? There was nothing in his file to indicate that he was married.

Castle returned shortly dressed in black fatigue pants, a black tee shirt, and combat boots to find that Beckett had pulled the two men into one of the bedrooms and had used lamp cords to tie them up. He was pretty sure that he'd hit them hard enough to give each a substantial concussion preventing them from waking anytime soon.

"I found this on them." Beckett held up a picture of Marie. It was obviously older and had been taken at a distance but there was no doubt it was her. "I need to call this in."

"No, don't!" Marie all but screamed. "John said that Tariq had plants in the Army's antiterrorism teams as well as the CIA. He said that the only one I could trust was Rick Castle and I'm not risking my daughter's life on you or your army." She looked at Castle then back to Beckett. "But if Rick trusts you then so will I. However, that's all when it comes to your government. And if you get me and Alexis to safety I'll tell you about Project Nanos."

"Project Nanos?" Castle didn't believe what he was hearing.

"Project Nanos is, or was, Sadam Hussein's ultimate chemical weapon. It was basically weaponized small pox. I worked for the UN trying to track down what was left of it," Marie smiled. "That's where I met John. Anyway he found it six months ago. When he sent it up the chain of command that's when things got hairy."

"What do you mean, _ha_ _i_ _ry?"_ Beckett asked.

"They sent him after Tariq with no backup. No way to really take him down if he found him. And since he isn't here I have to assume that he isn't going to meet us somewhere. Captain." The last word was full of venom and, for lack of a better word, hatred.

Beckett looked at the woman with bewilderment. Here was a woman had lost her husband, whether she knew it or not, and she was trying her best to defend her daughter. She looked at Castle who seemed just as lost as she was as to what to do. "So if we can get you to the French Embassy – with your accent I'm assuming you're French – would that work?"

Marie nodded, acknowledging Beckett's plan. "Okay. The Bangladesh military has a team outside. If we can get you to them we'll have them escort you to your embassy." Beckett continued, "We don't have any ties to the Bangladesh military so I think the chances of corruption are highly improbable."

Castle spoke up. "What are we going to tell Montgomery?"

"I'll tell him we have a French diplomat in here. I'll make him understand," Beckett said with some reservations, moving closer to Castle. "Are you sure about her? Are you sure about this?"

"I'm not sure about anything, Kate. But if she is who she says she is… Well, I owe John, and I'll protect them with my life if I have to. If you don't want to take this on just tell me and I'll get them out."

"I have no idea why I trust you, after all we just met, but I do. This is your call; I'll back your play." Beckett replied; hoping her smile would let him know he could trust her.

Castle picked up his earpiece and inserted it then performed a channel check with Beckett. "All right, I'll take point. Alexis is with me and Marie with you. If we get separated we are going to meet at the loading dock; have the extraction team meet us there."

"Yeah, that sounds good. I don't know how well the bad guys have it covered, but if it's like most hotels you have to go through the kitchen and laundry to get there. With the close quarters the likelihood of a bunch of them being there is slim. Especially if you factor in trying to find Marie," Beckett said as she picked up a weapon, then called into Montgomery to let him know what they were planning.

Castle, after picking up the other weapon the subdued terrorists had brought with them, turned to Alexis. "Hey pretty girl, I want you to hold onto my belt and don't let go. Okay?"

The little girl looked at her mother who nodded in affirmation. Upon receiving that she turned back to

Castle. "Okay, Mr. Castle."

"Then let's go."

Castle made his way to the door and crouched down leaning out to check to make sure there were no other bad guys waiting for them. Kate took the other side of the door standing and doing the same thing. She checked down the hall in the direction that she had come from earlier.

Castle turned to Alexis. "Sweetheart, I want you to hold onto my belt. When we stop I want you to close your eyes, there's no need for you to see the bad men. Can you do that for me, honey?"

"'kay," the little girl answered shyly.

"Ready Beckett?" he asked, looking over Marie and Alexis's shoulders.

"As I'll ever be," she replied. Never in her life had she ceded so much control to anyone. She was literally risking her life as well as her career solely on Richard Castle's judgment.

"Wait a second." Castle ran back to the bedroom and grabbed a handful of toilet paper. "Here Alexis, put some of this in your ears. In case I have to use this I don't want it to hurt your hearing." He raised the AK-47 and winked at the little girl. "Now let's go." With that he exited the room with Alexis on his hip followed by Marie with Beckett bringing up the rear, making sure that no one sneaked up on them from behind.

They made their way slowly down the hall checking each room as they went. When they found an occupied room they tried convince the occupants to hide within the room. Both Castle and Beckett knew that it wasn't the best option but it was the only one they had.

When they reached the second room the family inside refused to hide, insisting that they were going with Castle. Upon hearing the ruckus that the family was making, other hotel guests spilled into the hallway.

"Castle, we can't take all of these people with us," Beckett hissed.

"Everyone back into your rooms," he ordered. "It's safer there than with us." He made a shooing movement with his rifle.

"No matter what happens you stay with me, Alexis. Do you understand?" he asked the little girl in what Beckett could only describe as a plea. Then they moved to the end of the hallway where the dead combatants lay. They stopped as Castle searched the bodies for weapons and ammunition. In the breast pockets of both men they found photos of Marie.

While Castle conducted the search, Beckett called in the plan to Montgomery. Once they had the details in order and Beckett was sure that Kazi and his men would be helping, they headed into the stairwell.

"Castle, Espo and Hastings are going to meet us at the loading dock with the Bangladesh military. I would feel better with my team there."

"Copy that." Castle swept the stairwell while slowly making his way down the flights. "By the way, I think next time you should be the one to get naked."

"I'm not so sure that would be a good idea," she purred back into the com.

"Oh, and why is that?" he answered with as sinful a sounding voice he could muster while peering through the glass in the door that lead to the tenth floor. "Afraid I won't enjoy the ride?"

"Oh, I'm quite sure _YOU_ will enjoy the ride; I'm just not sure your heart could endure it. You _are_ a little older than me," she replied with an equally sexy voice.

"Target's two floors down," he called out breaking them out of their little bubble. "You ready, Alexis?" Taking a quick look to see her answering nod, he drew up his weapon. "Stay close, little one."

"Contact three floors up," Beckett called then leaned out hoping to get a better view. "Five, I think."

"Do you want to take them here on in the hallway of this floor?" Castle asked.

"There isn't a defensible position here, but I'm not so sure there's one on the floor, either. We could end up trapped in a room," she surmised.

"I agree, so let's just make our play here." He turned and looked at her then grinned. "Besides you get excited and start with the sex talk in stairwells." He winked then returned his gaze to the stairs below him knowing it wouldn't be but a few seconds before his prey came into view.

Just as soon as the men appeared in his sights he pulled back the trigger, unleashing 7.62mm rounds upon his targets. Three seconds later his adversaries were lying in pools of blood. "Okay, Marie get behind me." **Castle motioned for Marie to leave Beckett's side and move behind him. He wanted to provide covering fire for Kate and didn't want Marie to get caught in the crossfire.**

They could hear the rush of boots down the stairs, the men calling out in Arabic. Once they rounded into view both he and Beckett unleashed hell upon them; cutting them down before they could get off a shot.

"Beckett, get their ammo."

"Got it, Rick. Make for the kitchen. There's no way that the entire hotel didn't hear that." She tossed a grenade, taken off one of the bodies into the tenth floor hallway and the hallway exploded in a wave of debris. "With that explosion down that hall, and these bodies maybe they will think we went that way. It might by us some time."

"Good thinking." Castle resumed their descent.

"Beckett, are you okay?" Gates asked over her com. "Esposito reported gunshots."

"We're good, but there are…" she looked around, "seven less hostiles to deal with."

After the gunfight they quickly made their way to the kitchen encountering no other hostiles along the way. When they got to the entryway Castle stopped and looked through the door. "I can't see anyone."

"What do you think?" Beckett kept a watch on their rear.

"I think we're close enough that any gunfire will draw the whole lot of them," Castle asserted.

"I agree, so what's the play?" Again she never took her eyes off their rear, guarding them.

Castle handed her his weapon and pushed open the door, stopping to say, "Alexis, you stay with your mom. Kate, if this goes wrong, get them to safety."

She nodded. "I promise." She didn't know why she was making this promise or why she had a feeling in her gut that she would do anything to make his vow to this woman and little girl a reality. But she would.

He crept to the prep table making sure he didn't accidentally cause a disturbance that would draw the track-suited men's attention. He slowly reached up and pulled two, ten inch boning knives from the spot on the magnetic bar used to store them.

Castle inspected the knives to insure they would work to his satisfaction. When the sharpness of the blades passed inspection he continued to the loading dock doors where his unsuspecting adversaries awaited. When he reached the point of no return, as luck would have it, one of the men stepped around the corner leaving just one for Castle to deal with at a time.

Castle quickly pounced. He drove one of the knives into the man's lower back and the other he drew across his throat ending one terrorist's reign of terror. He lowered the man to the ground as gouts of blood escaped from the wounds.

He turned and entered the alcove to find the other guard smoking a cigarette, his weapon resting against the wall. Although the man was much larger than Castle it was no contest. He dispatched of the man in much the same manner he had used earlier.

He returned to Beckett. "Why don't you turn them over to the military. I'll stand guard here. It would suck if we got lax and they got caught." He pointed to their two charges.

"Sure thing, I've got it." Beckett herded women to the dock.

"Thank you, Richard. John was right about you. He said you would be gruff and a ladies' man, but I could trust you." Marie hugged Castle and placing a small innocent kiss to his cheek.

"You're welcome, Mrs. Sinclair. I would do anything for him." He leaned down and kissed Alexis. "You take care of your mom, okay? You're a Sinclair and that means you're pretty special."

Beckett made the hand off and returned with six Bangladeshi soldiers while Esposito and Hastings provided cover for Kazi and his wards.

The makeshift rescue team made it to the door that lead to the lobby when something caught her eye. "Do you remember what Lando Calrissian did to Han Solo in Cloud City?" she asked.

Startled by her question and the timing, it took Castle a moment to understand she wasn't fooling with him. "Yeah, he double crossed Han." He looked at her still confused as they stood stacked on both sides of the door ready to make entry. When her eyes grew larger he followed her sight line to see the edge of a photo sticking out of the breast pocket of one of the soldiers. "Motherfucker!" Castle let out as both he and Beckett opened fire on the turncoat soldiers.

Beckett screamed into her com, "Espo, stop Kazi! He's dirty and so are his men!" Castle took off for the loading dock.

"It's too late, Beckett! They're already gone. Hastings and I will go after them."

"Castle, get your ass back here." She exchanged gunfire with what remained of the terrorists. "I need your help."

She turned to see an enraged Castle returning. "Let's…" she started to say only to have Castle walk right past her position, firing at the remaining terrorists as he went. In a matter of seconds they were all down. When Castle was sure they were staying down he turned and headed for the dock.

"Don't, just… don't!" he said bitterly as Beckett tried to comfort him.

Xx

They were sitting in the makeshift command post going over what little intel they had on what had happened. Castle was seated to Beckett's right barely registering the conversation when the photo of Kazi appeared on the screen. "What the fuck – that's Tariq!"

"What!" Montgomery bellowed.

"That's Kazi," Gates insisted.

"No, _that's_ Tariq, and now he has Marie and Alexis! God help you all if anything happens to them."


	5. Chapter 5

**I am sorry this is so late, but I have struggled with this chapter. I have written it multiple times as the material is difficult for me. I settled on this (the least graphic) and still have reservations about its outcome.**

Redemption Chapter 5

The flight from Dhaka to Tampa had been had been tediously long. Even with the impressive range of the C5 Galaxy that the team used for transport, it still required a mid-air refueling somewhere over the Atlantic. For the entirety of the trip, Castle sat alone, refusing to speak with anyone, even Beckett. The events of the previous day still haunted him.

Not long after Castle identified Tariq, Ryan got a hit on their escape vehicle via a satellite. Esposito and Hastings were dispatched to intercept the suspected Range Rover along with local police; all the while Beckett and Castle were being debriefed. Part way through the debriefing Hastings informed Gates that the vehicle had been stopped; Tariq was nowhere to be found and Hastings was requesting Montgomery and Gates proceed immediately to their location.

"I'm going!" Castle barked upon hearing that they had found the getaway car. "And there isn't anyone alive who can stop me."

Montgomery sighed and looked at Beckett. "He's with you. Don't let him out of your sight."

Gates asked for a moment with Montgomery and they stepped into a small alcove out of earshot of the others. "Roy, are you sure about bringing him with us? You heard the desperation in Hastings' voice; it can't be a good thing."

"No, I don't think it's a good thing, but I don't want to be the one to try and stop him."

"Why, sir?" Gates was extremely intrigued to hear his response.

"I've read his unredacted file. Let's just say he's one scary bastard when he wants to be. And I don't think this is a battle we want to fight," Montgomery answered. "Besides have you been paying attention to Beckett?"

Gates shook her head slightly, letting Roy know that she didn't know where he was going with this line of thought. "No, I haven't."

Montgomery smiled. "She's been overly attentive to him from the moment I sent her to find him and she seems to have a calming effect on him."

"I don't know that I see it, Roy," the African American responded to her superior.

"They're good for each other, whether they know it or not."

Smirking, Gates asked, "Do I detect a little matchmaking here?"

"Not a bit, just a little team building."

Xx

When they arrived at Tariq's Range Rover, well, the Range Rover that he had used to make his escape, the scene was what you would expect to find in a third world country. The army had set up dual checkpoints, both preceding and after the scene, of fifty meters.

Castle was the first to exit a vehicle. He had shared one with Beckett while the rest of the team was in one of five additional vehicles; he made his way to the Range Rover. The English SUV was partially in a ditch with the front doors wide open.

"Where are they?!" Castle bellowed as he marched toward the wrecked vehicle.

"Mr. Castle, wait!" Hastings pleaded as she blocked his path. Castle grabbed the young woman by the elbows, lifted her out of his way, and continued onward to the vehicle.

Esposito tried to stop him short of the SUV. "Castle, I don't think you should…"

"If you want to see another sunrise you will get the _hell_ out of my way!" Castle growled.

Esposito was never one to back down, but there was something in Rick's voice that gave him pause. He stepped aside. "I really don't think you should see that."

Beckett, who had been hot on his heels grabbed his arm. "Rick, let me find out what's going on," the younger brunette asked, trying to intervene.

"I can't Kate, I need to see." He already knew what he was likely to find. Men like Tariq only knew one thing: DEATH.

He made his way to the side of the Range Rover. That's when he noticed the distinctive red blotch upon the rear driver's side window. Castle opened the door to find the slumped bodies of the two most important people in his friend John Sinclair's life, his wife and daughter. "OH GOD, NO!" Castle let out a near primal scream, falling to his knees.

Beckett was at his side in an instant, pulling him to her. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Castle."

An uncontrollable anger ripped through his veins, through his entire being, and he rose looking for someone on which to place the blame. As his tears subsided the one person he wanted to place the blame upon came into view.

Montgomery.

He stalked toward the colonel intent on inflicting the most vicious bodily harm he could imagine when a young captain – Ryan, if his memory served him correctly – stepped between him and his prey. "Major Castle, please don't. Don't do what you're thinking. We were all fooled. It's as much my fault as his; I didn't do my due diligence. It's my duty to vette anyone one who enters our CRIB." He didn't have to tell Castle that CRIB was an acronym for their command post.

It was a voice behind him that stopped him in his tracks from his march toward Montgomery. "Castle, if anyone's at fault," with a deep sigh Beckett continued, "it's me."

He snapped his head around to in an attempt to hear her better. "Please continue." His voice was laced with an anger and venom that even shocked him.

"I'm the one who called it in to Montgomery. I'm the one who was in command of the op. I'm the one who felt something in the pit of my stomach, a feeling of dread like I was making a monumentally bad decision. And I'm the one who eventually handed them over to Tariq. So if you need to exact revenge, get your pound of flesh, well… it's mine you're looking for."

He stood there staring at the young captain, wanting nothing more than to grab her by the throat and shake her until Marie and Alexis returned. But another part of him wanted to know about the feeling in the pit of her stomach, the feeling of dread that she'd spoken about. "Beckett, explain yourself," he growled.

"Our escape, it was too easy. Once I called it in to Montgomery... You remember in the stairwell, the teams we encountered? They weren't the cream of the crop. They were nothing like the team I saw take the lobby." She paused for him to replay the stairwell gunfight in his mind.

"And let's not even mention the fact that they fell for the grenade diversion. How did we make it to the kitchen? We didn't encounter anyone else, and to have that exit point – when they were searching for someone – defended so casually?" She shook her head. "The way had to have been cleared for us. They had to know where we were headed. I'm just heartbroken that I didn't figure it out until now. And I'm so sorry, Rick. I'm so sorry that this happened and I'm so sorry I let you down." She laid her soul bare, hoping he could see her remorse for the situation in which they found themselves.

"You're right, this _is_ all your fault," he seethed as he headed for the car that had delivered them to the scene. Upon reaching the car he turned. "It's just as much mine as it's yours. Until you said something, I hadn't seen it. I might never have figured it out." Castle slowly climbed into the car and shut the door. And the tears began to fall once again.

Xx

So that's how he found himself sitting all alone in the back of this Galaxy somewhere over the Atlantic, his emotions morphing from anger at Beckett and himself, to guilt, to remorse, then starting over again. He knew that Kate had made what she had thought was the prudent call at the time. Hell, if he was honest with himself he would have done the same thing but that last thought didn't alleviate the overwhelming guilt that was welling up inside of him.

While he sat alone on the plane trying to reconcile his feelings, Kate Beckett was sitting twenty feet away trying to reconcile her own. She had let two people walk into their deaths, and although it was unknowingly, it was still on her watch.

Beckett rose and slowly made her way to the man at the rear of the plane. She didn't have a clue as to what she could say to elevate his pain, but sure as she was alive she knew she needed to do something. The conundrum she was facing was that she couldn't for the life of herself figure out why she was so interested in soothing this man's agony.

"Castle, are you okay?" She placed a hand upon his shoulder and took a seat beside him.

"No, I'm about as far from okay as one man can get." He heaved a deep sigh.

She turned forty-five degrees while tucking one leg under the other. "What can I do?"

Castle leaned back, bumping his head against the fuselage. "Just sit here." He reached out for her, pulling her head down on his shoulder.

Beckett was astonished at the vulnerable display from the man cradling her. If you'd asked her to place a bet on the strangest thing this man beside her would do, this wouldn't have been in the top one hundred options. But here she was, pressed against him while he gently stoked her hair. She returned the favor by placing her arm around his torso and rubbing his unused arm until he fell asleep and she joined him. Neither of them had noticed the rest of the team gawking at them. They were lost in their own little world of regret.

Xx

Castle could hear the clickety-clack of four inch heeled biker boots as they entered the bar. The sound of the gait could only mean one person.

Beckett.

The woman who had taken up the bar stool next to him turned at the sound to see who had entered the bar. It wasn't difficult to realize someone had entered; the entire little bar went quiet. No one had ever seen a woman like that in this dingy little place.

Beckett made her way to the end of the bar where Castle and his _friend_ had taken up residence. "Get lost!" Beckett said to the woman who was obviously a lady of the evening.

"I…" The woman tried to respond before being cut off.

"I. SAID. GET. LOST!" Beckett ordered with a thumb over her shoulder.

Beckett and Castle watched as the woman got up and moved to a table in the back of the bar. The young woman was shooting daggers at Beckett.

"Do you even know her name?" Beckett asked while motioning for the bartender.

"When she sat down she said it was _M_ _aybe._ After the first drink it was _P_ _robably._ With the last drink, it was _D_ _efinitely."_ He turned to look at the woman who was now shooting daggers at both of them. "I guess now her name is _NOT A CHANCE IN HELL."_

Beckett snickered at the characterization of the woman's name. "Oh, you poor thing! That must be so depressing," she cooed. She turned back to the bar and ordered another round of drinks; the drinks flowed and laughter reigned.

After a couple of hours of talking about everything and nothing at all, Castle posed a question. "How is it that you chose…"

"Don't!" Kate warned in a serious tone. "Don't ask that question!"

Feeling as if he had been scolded like a toddler, he turned back to his drink. His eyes locked on the multitude of liquor bottles that took up residence on the back of the bar. "I don't know what you mean," he mumbled.

Beckett knew that the evening was taking a terrible turn, and that her need to keep her past private was the culprit. She placed the slender fingers of her right hand on the expanse of his biceps, quietly requesting his eyes return to her.

"You were going to ask me what a girl like me is doing in this job. That I should have been a doctor or lawyer or some such."

"Or model, maybe even a Victoria's Secret model," he grinned mischievously.

"Or model," she grinned back. "The truth is that I lost my dad on 9/11. He was in the north tower for a meeting and didn't make it out. I just... I just felt that I had to do something, you know? I was in my junior year at Stanford, so on the day I graduated I went to a recruiter's office. And well, the rest is history."

Castle's gaze hadn't left her as she told her story; it was almost as if he was reliving the pain she felt. He turned, reached out, and took her hand from his biceps. "My mother was an actress. Broadway mostly, but there were a few television shows here and there. I was home on leave and attended the opening, and as fate would have it, the closing performance of the latest show she was in. It was a revival of _Oklahoma,_ set to a disco beat." He shivered. "It was truly awful. But anyway, I met one of the actresses in the show. Meredith Lee.

"I was captivated from the first instance, I'd never seen anyone like her. We had a whirlwind romance and married six months later. Her family was sure that she was pregnant. Boy, were they surprised when it took fifteen months for Alexis to be born."

"Alexis. That's why John's daughter…"

"Yeah, that's why it hit me so hard. Not that I wouldn't have moved heaven and earth for his family, but knowing that he named her after my little girl..."

It was obvious that the alcohol was freeing up the tongues of the two at the bar and with it the need to comfort each other. Beckett's arm went around his biceps while her hand stoked his forearm. She seemed to sense that there was more to this story and coaxed him into continuing.

"I was in Afghanistan in '99; we were searching for Bin Laden after the attacks on the Kenyan and Somali Embassies. If you remember, Clinton launched a few Tomahawk missiles into the caves hoping to get Osama but it didn't work, so they sent in a team to look for the bastard. We were there eight months before they pulled us out.

"Two weeks after I was deployed Mere and Alexis went to visit my mother. You see, Mere was from Texas and after Alexis was born she moved back to the family ranch. Anyway, the three of them were in a cab headed to a show when a garbage truck ran a red light. They died instantly."

"Oh, god! Rick, I'm so very sorry," Beckett said, tears streaming down her face.

Tears were coursing down his face just as fast as hers. "I didn't know when they pulled me out. It wasn't until I was able reach someone at the ranch that I found out. Trust me, Kate, no one should ever lose a child, but to not be able to say your goodbyes..."

"Let's get out of here." Beckett tugged at his arm.

"I'm staying right here on this barstool until I can't speak, then I'm gonna crawl across the street to that hotel." He thumbed behind him letting her know which one he intended to visit.

"No, you're not. You're coming home with me."


End file.
